


Sugar and Spice

by ingenious_spark



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Festivals, Fluff, Halloween, Halloween Town (Nightmare Before Christmas), Isolation, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Pre-Relationship, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 01:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21235709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingenious_spark/pseuds/ingenious_spark
Summary: "Sugar and spice, and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of..."Except Naminé is a vampire who lives in Halloween Town. She's not supposed to be sweet and gentle, but she is. It's just the nature of her personality. So she lives with other misfits and outcasts, and longs for things she cannot have.And makes a new friend, purely by chance.





	Sugar and Spice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jaegerchen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaegerchen/gifts).

> The idea of a vampire that eats color comes from Adventure Time, courtesy of my husband, who's actually seen it (I haven't). 
> 
> Written for the Candy Apple Keyblade Exchange, for [@marie-jaeger](http://marie-jaeger.tumblr.com)! I hope you enjoy it!

Naminé set down her colored pencil, smiling faintly down at the finished drawing. It was something- well, some_ one _\- she'd seen recently in town, when she'd been lingering on the outskirts of the marketplace, before she'd bought her apples and left. A girl, with pretty black hair and eyes like dark, ripe cherries. A classic vampire, from her sleek black bat wings and the way she'd dressed. 

"She's pretty, little sister," a voice, light and wispy, just on the edge of nonexistent, told Naminé. She turned her head and smiled warmly at her adopted sister.

"Thank you, Strelitzia," Naminé told her. "I thought she was pretty too."

"Pretty is just another synonym for trouble," their adoptive brother griped, strolling in with a bundle of fresh-cut bruise-purple flowers. "Who are we talking about?" Naminé stood, fetching down a vase for Lauriam. 

"Just a girl I saw in the marketplace. I decided to draw her because she was pretty." Naminé dismissed, letting Lauriam deposit and arrange the flowers to his liking, careful not to touch the surely poisonous blooms. Lauriam hummed, giving her a quick, close stare. She blinked back at him placidly. Strelitzia giggled at them both, and Naminé smiled. Lauriam huffed and returned to his arrangement, pickily shifting the stalks around.

They were an odd family unit. Mismatched and all of them out of place, and therefore shunned by the larger populace of Halloween Town. 

Lauriam, or Marluxia as the other townspeople called him, was ostracized for being _ too _ dangerous. As it was their job to bring Halloween to the Other World, one had to strike a balance between frightening and horrifying. Lauriam was a man-eater, a dryad whose toxins could strip bones in seconds, who was planted smack in the middle of horrifying. He wasn't interested in playing Halloween Town's games of politics, wasn't interested in censoring who he was for the sake of the Other World's celebrations.

Strelitzia, on the other hand, wasn't scary enough. She was a ghost, but she was shy and didn't like to frighten people. Indeed, it would be hard to be frightened of Strelitzia, in Naminé's admittedly biased opinion. She was small, and had a delicate frame and manifested wearing pretty dresses. The way she wore her hair in adorable low pigtails didn't help, though her eyes looked sufficiently frightening. They were a solid black with no pupil or white, and black tears spilled over her cheeks constantly, wisping away into nothingness after they dripped from her chin. She too, cared little for the business of Halloween Town. 

Naminé herself fell into the not-scary camp with Strelitzia. She was small and preferred to wear white; cute dresses that she made herself. She knew full well that she'd never match a 'true' vampire for frightening. Naminé was a strange breed of vampire, after all, one who drank up color, instead of drinking blood. She had the standard set of vampiric traits; long delicate fangs, clawed fingertips. She even had bat wings, though she kept hers sized small to be out of the way. They weren't the traditional black, after all, but a soft, fuzzy golden to match her blonde hair. The only even mildly frightening thing about her was the way her lips and the inside of her mouth was stained colorless black, stark contrast to the pearly white of her teeth. If she ate too much, sometimes her veins would trace black against her skin, and if she glutted herself, her eyes would turn a solid black too, like Strelitzia's. Naminé didn't like the way it made her look, though, so she stuck to small, regular meals interspersed through the day. It was nice, however, to know that if she ever needed to masquerade as a classical vampire, she wouldn't need lipstick, at least.

"The First of October is coming up," Strelitzia said, fiddling with the hem of her ghostly dress. Naminé paused where she was about to bite into an apple leftover from her earlier candying adventure. Lauriam growled, and branches rattled ominously against the window. Naminé bit down, thinking about her answer as she sucked the color out of the pretty red apple. The delicious, crisp flavor filled her mouth, making her smile softly. 

The first day of October was a big party for Halloween Town. The day they took off from frantic preparation in order to celebrate the coming Halloween. Not that they didn't also celebrate the actual day, but the First was a much more low stakes party. Naminé kind of wanted to go. She took the drained apple from her mouth, red given way to colorless grey. 

"Calm down Lauriam," she murmured, handing the apple off to him. He grouchily crunched down on it. Her feeding left the fruit flavorful still, just lacking in color. Most folk found it unappetizing, but Lauriam didn't care. Another reason they lived well together. She deliberated internally for a couple minutes. "I think I'd like to go." She declared calmly, ignoring the increased rattling and the way Lauriam choked on a bite of apple. She quietly pulled the basket she'd been preparing before she sat down to draw across the counter towards herself. It was almost all ready to go. She ladled the spiced apple cider she'd been heating on the stove into a thermos, and tucked it into the basket. It was about time to go meet up with her friend. 

"Why would you want to go to that- that-" Lauriam made a noise not unlike a whistling teakettle, and she hid a laugh. He couldn't seem to find the words to tell her exactly how much he hated Halloween Town's populace at large. It was entirely fair, though. Halloween Town had rejected them for things beyond their control, and Lauriam had chosen to hate them for it. Naminé knew exactly where he was coming from. Sometimes she even hated them too, but most of the time, well. She just pined quietly, for the hustle and bustle and friendly conversation, the excitement she always saw around this time of year. Lauriam told her all the time that she was too soft, too _ forgiving _. But in his words she saw his frustrated protectiveness, his unspoken, unacknowledged wistfulness. He wished for things he couldn't have, too.

"It's my decision to make, isn't it?" She pointed out softly, and he deflated like a pricked balloon. "Besides, I already sewed myself a more appropriate outfit for it. I'm not putting all that work to waste." She nodded firmly, folding the pretty cloth she'd lined her basket with over the contents, and left it on the counter to go fetch her capelet. She pulled on her yellow and white rain boots, in deference to the weather- no longer raining, but still overcast. Her pretty golden capelet was arranged over her shoulders, leaving her small wings covered. Lauriam was poking her basket as she returned to the kitchen, and she raised an eyebrow at him. 

"I put in some tea your friend should like," he said grudgingly. "Though I still think being her friend is a terrible idea. What if it sparks another fight? If Jack Skellington can't get away with it, how can you?" Strelitzia was hovering at his shoulder, looking worried and nodding along with his points. 

"Jack Skellington tried to take over another town's holiday. _ That _ was why he got in trouble. I just made a friend, okay? We aren't plotting anything diabolical." Naminé explained calmly. Lauriam gave her a skeptical look, but let her go without further protest. Naminé slipped out of the overgrown house and into the woods that stood right outside. This late in the year most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, leaving a crunchy layer of wafting fall scent underfoot, musty and spicy. Unfortunately, it had rained the previous night, so the leaf carpet was wet and disappointing. Naminé merely shrugged philosophically down at them when they failed to scatter when she kicked at them, and splashed in a puddle instead. She was almost to the rendezvous point when a chill breeze made her shiver, feeling like cold fingers dancing lightly over her exposed skin. 

"Now what's a human doing around here?" Someone purred into her ear, and it took all her energy not to jump or drop her basket in fright. Whoever it was, they were very good at the scaring game. Naminé turned, deliberately slow and unafraid. She wasn't about to show her tender underbelly to any random stranger who decided she was just another human to scare. Her eyes widened in surprise though, when she saw who it was. 

The girl from the marketplace, the one she'd just been drawing. A curious level of coincidence- unless she's seen Naminé too, and had been trying to search her out. Cherry-dark eyes were looking at her with grudging respect now. 

"Simple," Naminé explained, trying her best to channel Lauriam's haughtiness, and ending up quietly sincere instead. "I'm not a human." She bared her fangs in a bright, pretty smile, and let magic fill her wings, letting them grow to full size. The girl vampire looked genuinely wrongfooted, and Naminé cherished a seed of smug satisfaction tucked within her breast at the look. 

"You're a vampire?" The girl asked, sounding bewildered. "How come I don't know you then? The vampire community is much more tight knit than the ghosts or witches." She pointed out. Naminé felt her mouth twist wryly. 

"Because they don't want you to know me." She replied simply. The other vampire scored.

"Who?" She demanded.

"The elders of all the vampire covens in Halloween Town. All of Halloween Town at large. I'm not a proper vampire and so, I'm shunned." Naminé shrugged, and tried not to feel bad at how poleaxed the girl looked. "I don't drink blood, I consume color. And I don't fit the aesthetic." She pointed out, wondering how young or sheltered the other girl was, to not know about this. "I have to go. Please don't follow me." Naminé said politely, and unfurled her wings, leaping into the air to make her getaway.

Once she was certain she wasn't being followed, she made her circuitous route to the rendezvous point and settled down a short way from her friend. The redhead blinked at her owlishly, and she hastily shrank her wings back down. 

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" Her friend said, dismayed. Naminé relaxed a little. 

"It's okay, Kairi. I didn't want to alarm you." She tried to explain. Kairi pouted at her. 

"They're pretty, though. You don't have to keep them small all the time." She gave one more token protest, before patting a space on the red blanket she was sitting on. "Gift exchange time!" She changed the subject for Naminé's sake. 

"Trick or treat," Naminé replied warmly. Kairi picked up the basket beside her, the cloth covering everything white with a pattern of red and green mistletoe. A contrast to Namine's orange cloth with little black bats. They exchanged baskets, and had a playful little argument over who was supposed to open theirs first. Naminé won and watched, pleased, as Kairi opened her gift. She'd packed a selection of fun, Halloween treats. Pumpkin turnovers, gummy worms, candy corn, candy and caramel apples, a bag of roasted pumpkin seeds, and of course, the thermos of spiced cider. And Lauriam's addition of tea. She recognized the handmade label- his pumpkin spice chai blend. 

Kairi exclaimed happily over each addition, piling them neatly beside herself. Then she turned her bright eyes to Naminé eagerly. Naminé laughed, but obligingly opened her own basket. She pulled out a selection of Christmas treats, candy canes, chocolates with marshmallow or peppermint creme filling, gingerbread men, a tiny panettone, peppermint brittle, a pouch of roasted chestnuts, and a thermos of mint-flavored hot chocolate. She beamed over at Kairi, taking a careful sip of the rich cocoa. 

"All of this looks lovely," she said brightly, passing Kairi's basket back as Kairi gave her her own. They couldn't exchange baskets as well as gifts, unfortunately, as that would be just a little too suspicious. This was already a clandestine friendship, neither of them wanted to draw attention to it. They both packed most of the goodies back away, leaving a couple out to snack on as they chatted. 

"So why did you turn up all aflutter?" Kairi asked after a moment of catching up. Naminé sighed softly. 

"Well, I had a bit of an… encounter, and I didn't want her tracking me back to you." She said, a touch sheepishly. She explained how it went, and a wicked gleam lit Kairi's blue-purple eyes. 

"It sounds like you think she's pretty," she mentioned slyly, and Naminé huffed. 

"Maybe so," she admitted. "Still, that's not going to go anywhere if she keeps up the traditional vampire thing."

"Well, you didn't exactly give her a chance to do much else. Though I am glad you made it before I would have had to leave." Kairi said, pouting a little. "I'm just telling you- don't rule the possibility out. Relationships can be very rewarding." She briefly got a gooey look in her eyes, and Naminé smiled at her friend. "If you want one, anyway. They aren't for everyone." Kairi continued, but eyed Naminé with a sharp glance. "I think you do, though. You speak of Lauriam and Strelitzia fondly, but you've seemed very lonely the last few times we've seen each other. It worries me." She reached over and squeezed Naminé's hand gently. Naminé chewed on her inner cheek, feeling almost guilty.

"You're very insightful, you know," she sighed softly. Kairi giggled, the sound like tinkling bells. 

"Someone has to be, with Sora and Riku." She said lightly. Naminé smiled softly, tipping her head back to look up at the grey-blue autumn sky. A few blood-red leaves still clung to the big, twisted tree they sat under. The girl's eyes had been darker. 

"What is it like, to be in a relationship?" Naminé asked lightly. Kairi pursed her lips thoughtfully. 

"It's a lot like friendship. The person, or people, you're with- you don't get tired of being with them. I mean, obviously sometimes you just need some space, but that's okay too. You talk, and sometimes you're just quiet together. You don't get bored of each other, though you might get bored in general. Honestly, I think it's kind of important to form a relationship with the kind of person you'd like to befriend, or are already friends with. That's just my opinion, though. I'm sure if you asked other people they'd tell you differently." Kairi shrugged lightly, then smirked. "Kissing is nice too," she said teasingly, and Naminé gently swatted her arm. Naminé hummed softly, turning over what Kairi had said in her mind. 

"You might be right. I'm going to the celebration on the First, I made a new dress and everything. I'll try to keep an open mind about it." She said finally. Kairi smiled at her warmly, before turning and digging through her little pouch. Naminé watched her curiously. 

"You brought the First up last time we met, a couple months ago, and I thought I'd try my hand at making you something for it," she told Naminé brightly. "I wasn't sure what your decision was going to be, so I wasn't sure if this was going to be more of a 'hey you should go', or an 'I'm glad you're going after all'. But here," she handed over a scrap of black fabric, and Naminé unfolded it curiously. It was a lace mask in the shape of a bat, adorable and intricate. Naminé wondered when Kairi had been able to make it, as black wasn't a common color in Christmas Town, and stuck out all the more for it. 

"I love it, Kairi," Naminé said wholeheartedly, tying the ribbons around her head to try it on. Kairi helped her adjust it. It fit perfectly, as anything made by a Christmas sprite did. Kairi tapped her lips thoughtfully with a finger. 

"You might have to wear your hair up, the ribbon's making it puff awkwardly. I hadn't considered that." She said a little regretfully. 

"Don't worry about it. I love it, I promise." Naminé said, taking it off and storing it safely in her basket. Kairi nodded, and sighed softly. 

"I'd best get going, unfortunately. I'll see you again in January?" She offered, and Naminé nodded. 

"I hope Christmas goes smoothly for you," she wished gently. Kairi nodded.

"And have a happy Halloween, Naminé," she returned the thought. Naminé helped her shake out and fold the blanket, damp red leaves drifting back to the ground, and off Kairi went. Naminé lingered, reaching up to pluck one of the red leaves that still clung to the gnarled branches, twirling the stem in her fingers for a moment. It was pretty and shapely, without holes and still crisp. She tucked the leaf in her basket, and headed home.

* * *

The morning of the First of October dawned crisp and clear, and Naminé could barely wait until the party that night. Lauriam was being extra grouchy, but Naminé didn't let it get her down. Strelitzia fluttered around her, cooing as she made the last minute finishing touches on her dress where it sat on her dressmaker's form. It was a departure from her normal dresses, being black instead of white. The bodice was form-fitting, with laces up the back. Naminé had considered putting in boning, and instead done a couple of reinforced seams. The skirt was full, stopping around knee-length, black satin, like the bodice, with a lace overskirt of a red-purple color that reminded her of ripe plums or a fresh bruise. The color matched the laces of her bodice, as well as the sleeves of the dress, which were more of the lace, cut soft and billowy and edged in black satin. She had a black lace hair veil, black lace stockings and gloves, black ankle boots with a short, chunky heel, and of course, Kairi's lace bat mask to complete the outfit. It was the most black she'd ever put into an outfit since being thoroughly rejected from vampire society. 

Naminé soaked in a bath for a while when she was done fussing over the dress, trying to figure out a way to make time go faster. Or at least a way to make herself less nervous about this whole idea. Lauriam's disapproval was beginning to get to her. 

Once out of the bath she picked up her pencils and drew. Fanciful images of gnarled old trees still clinging to bright, bloody leaves and eyes the color of ripe dark cherries spilled from her pencil lead. Perhaps it wasn't Lauriam's disapproval that was making her anxious after all. Naminé told herself sternly not to get her hopes up. The girl was a traditional vampire. She had probably run right home and asked her sire or an elder who the little blond outcast vampire was, and been told not to interact with her even if she saw her. 

Naminé sat at her little vanity table, wrapped up in a soft, fuzzy, baby-blue bathrobe, and tried not to fret. Strelitzia left after a few moments of trying to reassure her, and Naminé tried not to feel slightly betrayed. She should figure out what to do with her hair, and remember that she promised Kairi she'd try. Yes. She brushed out her soft blonde hair and stared at her reflection in the cracked mirror. That she had a reflection at all was strange as well. 

She needed to stop dwelling on everything that could go wrong. A knock sounded at her door, and she blinked, twisting half around. The only person it could be was Lauriam. What was he doing here? She'd thought he was still out in the garden, sulking. 

"Come in," she said belatedly, and sure enough, in slipped Lauriam. He was carrying something- the leaf she'd brought home. He smiled at her, barely more than a twitch of lips, and his eyes looked a little guilty. 

"I've come to help you get ready, little lily," he said bossily, holding out the leaf. It was a hair stick now, stem transformed into a glossy stake of wood- the irony was not lost on Naminé. Trust Lauriam to make an accessory into a method to protect herself as well- specifically against her own kind. The leaf itself looked sturdy and lacquered, rather than the fragile, transient thing she'd brought home. Naminé smiled and took it from him, and he took up her brush, brushing her hair out into fine golden silk, before tying it up in a neat bun with a scrap of ribbon and a couple pins. She handed him back the new stick, and he carefully skewered her hair with it, arranging it to one side.

"Make up?" He asked lightly, and Naminé nodded to her new bottles and compacts. 

"Try not to make me look too dead?" She asked hopefully, and he scoffed lightly, flipping a lock of pink hair over his shoulder. 

"I promise you will look beautiful, darling." Lauriam murmured, and she let him paint her face trustingly. When she glanced into the mirror when he was done, she smiled. Her complexion was smoothed out, but not deathly pale, a little light color shading her cheekbones like a china doll. Her lips had been given a coating of clear gloss, to make the black skin shimmer. Her eyes were heavily lined and looked even bigger in her delicate face, shadowed with red-purple tones. "Up you get, little lily, and dressed," Lauriam gently shooed her away, excusing himself so she had the privacy to change into her new dress. 

Naminé came out carrying both mask and hair veil, not quite sure how to make the veil work with the hair stick. Luckily Lauriam was a master of making outfits work, and secured it over her bun with a ribbon. She tied on the mask and took a deep breath. She was going to go, and have fun. No one was going to stop her. Lauriam gave her another faint, wispy smile, an edge of wistfulness coloring his face. 

"Have fun, Naminé," he said gravely, as though imparting deep knowledge. Naminé gave him a sweet, gentle smile, and nodded, little golden wings fluttering in nervous excitement. This was it- she was off. She waved over her shoulder at Lauriam and Strelitzia, close together and waving her off fondly.

The sunset spilled orange light over the darkening sky as a harvest moon just peeked over the horizon, gravid and full. She hurried towards the town proper, heart pounding in her throat, heading towards the bright, flickering lights and the laughing, shrieking cacophony of the celebration. She paused in an alley and straightened her skirts, before stepping out into the square. 

It was lovely, Jack o' Lanterns everywhere with every conceivable face and some other, more complex patterns as well, lit from within by candles. Candles were spelled to float in groups, spilling flickering light everywhere. There was a carefully cultivated bonfire in the middle of the square, and little stands with carnival games off to one side. More booths with food and drinks stood off at another end of the square, and there was dancing, around the bonfire and nearby it, a skeleton band playing a lively tune on a portable stage. Naminé laughed brightly, clapping her hands together in joy, wings fluttering madly. 

Naminé let herself be swept up into the crowd, sampling some interesting delicacies before trying one of the carnival games.she wasn't very good at it, but that didn't bother her. She looked out at the dancing, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She'd like to, Naminé liked dancing. 

What in the name of the Great Pumpkin was stopping her? She screwed up her courage and stepped closer to the dancers, watching how it was done for a long moment. Once Naminé felt fairly confident about it, she watched how people joined the dancing, before finally stepping to the edge of the crowd. She extended her hand in the way that dancers without partners were doing when they wanted to join up. Within moments she was swept into the arms of a handsomely dressed skeleton and into the press of the dancing. She laughed as she was spun and twirled, passing from the skeleton to a dapper rag doll woman, to a mad scientist type with frizzled white hair. 

The next turn in the dancing she was passed to someone about her own height, in a sleek, pretty suit. Her big blue eyes met eyes the color of ripe cherries, and her joy evaporated, replaced with a deep sense of awkwardness. The vampire girl blinked at her as they danced, looking equally awkward. 

"Um, I'm Xion." She said after a moment. 

"Ah- Naminé," she murmured politely in reply. 

"Do you- um, want to get some punch?" Xion asked, and Naminé blinked, thrown off. That was a departure from what she'd been expecting.

"Uh, I guess so?" She replied hesitantly, following Xion's lead as they danced to the edge of the crowd and broke out. Naminé stumbled a little, reminding her body that it was time to walk now, not dance. Xion courteously steadied her, before offering Naminé her elbow. Naminé delicately slid her hand into place, blushing a little. Xion was so very pretty. She was wearing a severely tailored suit with delicate white pinstripes, waistcoat and cravat. Her coat trailed off into neat tails, small black bat's wings slipped through carefully tailored slits in the back, much like Naminé's dress. The waistcoat matched the suit, sharp and angular, but emphasizing the curves of her body, two antiqued silver buttons arranged across the front symmetrically. Her shirt was a shimmery ruby red, and she had an elegantly tied cravat of a red so dark it was almost black, edged with black lace and pinned with a black and red skull cameo. 

Xion led her off to one of the food stalls, where she got herself a cut of the vampire's blood punch. Naminé helped herself to some of the warmed pumpkin cider, and Xion eyed her curiously. Most vampires could process any liquid, but needed blood for essential nutrients. Naminé herself could also process any liquid, and drain the color from it to sustain herself as well, since it was pretty impossible to bite liquids. 

"I thought your sire would have told you to stay away from me," Naminé said quietly, once they'd stepped off to a less crowded spot. Xion blinked at her, and then her mouth twisted wryly. 

"Not precisely? Vexen told me you were an-" she grimaced faintly, "'interesting phenomenon' among vampires. He didn't say why, though. That generally means he wants to… study you." Xion says delicately. Naminé stared at her with wide eyes. "He's gotten better at consent!" Xion assured her rapidly. Naminé wasn't entirely sure if that made it better or not. "So um, can you actually drink that, or do you just like the flavor?" Xion asked, nodding towards the pumpkin cider. Naminé accepted the slightly desperate subject change with grace.

"I can drink it and enjoy the flavor. I consume color, you see. If I were to bite an apple, it would turn grey." She used an easy example to illustrate her ability to Xion. She was still wholly surprised that this Vexen was actually all right with her. She tried to recall if they'd ever met, and managed to conjure a faint image of a tall, skinny vampire with dull blond hair. Always muttering to himself, seeming too lost in research for pretty much anything else. She was shocked he even had a childe- maybe he'd turned Xion as an experiment? "Since this is a liquid, I can drink it, draining the color out of it as I do." Xion blinked, looking surprised. 

"So if you bit a person, what would happen?" She asked curiously. 

"Well, a patch of their skin would turn grey where I bit them, and I'd drink their blood. I don't really like the flavor though, so I don't." Naminé asserted, and blinked in well-contained shock when Xion sighed wistfully. 

"I wish I could be like you. I don't like the taste of blood either," she said mournfully, looking down at her cup with vague disappointment. Naminé had no idea what to say. Xion looked up and immediately backpedaled, so apparently Naminé's expression was a sight to behold. "I mean- I didn't mean to offend you!" She hurriedly said, but Naminé shook her head.

"It's okay. It's just that no one has ever said that before. Plus you'd have to deal with extreme social isolation if you were like me." Naminé pointed out. Xion made a peculiar little face. 

"I was, um, an accident anyway, so to be perfectly honest that might be more welcome? Than all the… comments I get sometimes." Xion drooped, and Naminé found herself reaching out to her and drawing her into a gentle hug. 

"Well, I'll admit, if you don't mind social isolation, I could use more friends." She murmured hopefully. Xion gave her a wry smile.

"I mean, it would shift the topic of gossip about me to something of my own choosing. I can't say I feel like I'd be losing in this proposition." Xion said lightly. Naminé felt hope bloom gently in her chest, and smiled, glancing down. Xion clicked her tongue lightly, catching Naminé's chin lightly. "I like your smile, please don't hide it." She said softly, and Naminé squeaked. 

"A-all right." She murmured. If she'd been human, her cheeks would be rosy with a blush. As it stood, she glanced around for a distraction, something to divert Xion's attention until Naminé could recover. Her eyes lit on an out of the way sign, and she pointed over at it eagerly. 

"How about we go for a ride?" She offered. The sign was advertising rides on witches' broomsticks, like a pony ride at a hunan festival. Xion's face lit with interest.

"Looks fun to me. Let's go." She said warmly, catching Naminé's hand in her own as they headed out to the field. 

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
>   * Comments not in English
> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
> This author replies to comments. It might take a few days/weeks depending on how busy I am, but you will receive a reply.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will respond only with an emoji! I will respond only because I have some compulsive tendencies towards replying to comments.


End file.
